New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 7 - HEALTH
Chapter 27 - EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
Part 4 - EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FUND ACT
Section 7.27.4.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Accumulation" means the expenditure or disposition in the current fiscal year of funds distributed in the prior fiscal year. However, a municipality or county may accumulate balances to purchase vehicles or equipment if the accumulation and a purchase plan have been approved by the bureau.

B. "Act" means the Emergency Medical Services Fund Act, Section 24-10A-1, et seq., NMSA 1978 (as amended by Laws of 2001, Chapter 273).

C. "Advisory committee" means those individuals, representing specific agencies, organizations, and consumers appointed by the secretary to advise the bureau on statewide EMS policy matters.

D. "Ambulance service" means a publicly or privately owned entity holding a current certificate of the New Mexico public regulation commission as an emergency response ambulance service and subject to the rules and regulations of the public regulation commission or its successor agency.

E. "Applicant" means an incorporated municipality or county applying on behalf of a local recipient. For special funding applications (i.e., statewide and local system improvement projects), applicant also includes EMS regional office, approved training institution or the bureau.

F. "Area" for purposes of pro-rata allocation of designated funds by county as described in Subsection D of 7.27.4.11 NMAC, of this rule, means the area, expressed in square miles, for each New Mexico county as reported in the U.S. department of commerce publication entitled area measurement reports, areas of New Mexico: (most recent edition).

G. "Bureau" means the emergency medical systems bureau of the office of health emergency management, New Mexico department of health.

H. "Chief" means the chief of the emergency medical systems bureau.

I. "Department" means the New Mexico department of health.

J. "Director" means the director of the epidemiology and response division.

K. "Division" means the epidemiology and response division.

L. "Eligible item" means a cost or item of proposed expenditure under the local EMS funding program, which is eligible for funding under the act and includes those categories listed in Subsection N of 7.27.4.11 NMAC of this rule.

M. "Emergency medical dispatch agency (EMDA)" means an organization, or a combination of organizations working cooperatively, that routinely accepts calls for emergency medical assistance and employs emergency medical dispatch priority reference system (EMDPRS) techniques.

N. "EMS" means the services rendered by emergency medical technicians, licensed emergency medical services first responders or emergency medical dispatchers in response to an individual's need for immediate medical care to prevent loss of life or aggravation of physical or psychological illness or injury.

O. "EMS regional office" means those regional planning and development agencies formally recognized and supported by the bureau.

P. "Fiscal year" means the state fiscal year that runs from July 1 through June 30 each year.

Q. "Federal fiscal year " means the federal fiscal year that runs from October 1 through September 30 each year.

R. "Fund" means the emergency medical services fund.

S. "Licensing fees" mean the licensure fees, licensure renewal fees, and travel and per-diem expenses associated with the licensing and the certification process in New Mexico required of emergency medical technicians and licensed EMS first responders under current regulations governing the certification and licensing of EMS personnel.

T. "Local EMS personnel" means an individual who is authorized to provide pre-hospital care and is affiliated with a local recipient.

U. "Local emergency medical services system" means coordinated system of health care in a defined geographic area, including but not limited to community education and prevention programs, centralized access, emergency medical dispatch, law enforcement, licensed EMS personnel, fire medical rescue, ambulance, and hospital which support, respond to and/or provide emergency medical care in an organized fashion to the real or perceived needs of sick or injured persons in New Mexico and its border areas. For the purpose of funding, local emergency medical service system means one or more local recipients within a single EMS system.

V. "Local recipient" means an ambulance service, medical rescue service, fire department rescue service or fire district, air ambulance service, or other pre-hospital care provider:

W. "Medical director" means a physician currently licensed or otherwise authorized to practice in New Mexico who directs or supervises the practice of EMS personnel, or assists in the development and approval of local protocols and who participates in the development and implementation of quality assurance activities and training programs in connection with an EMS provider.

X. "Medical-rescue service" means a provider that is part of the emergency medical services system but not subject to the authority of the public regulation commission or its successor agency, under the Ambulance Standards Act (Sections 65-6-1 to 65-6-6, NMSA 1978) and which may be dispatched to the scene of an emergency to provide rescue or medical care.

Y. "Population" for purposes of pro-rata allocation of designed funds by county as described in Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of 7.27.4.11 NMAC of this rule, means the population estimates for each New Mexico county as shown in the most recent report of provisional figures in the U.S. department of commerce publication entitled population estimates, "estimates of the population of New Mexico counties and metropolitan areas: (identifier)".

Z. "Pre-hospital data base program" means the routine submission of essential pre-hospital data elements as defined by the bureau via bureau provided run forms or other methods.

AA. "Prevention program" means a planned activity with a defined purpose, stated objectives, implementation schedule and an evaluation component that seeks to prevent or reduce illness or injury. Examples include but not limited to bicycle helmet promotion, seat belt awareness campaign, child car seat distribution program, DWI prevention and first aid training.

BB. "Qualified instructor" means an individual who through education, training, and experience is approved by an approved EMS training program to teach local EMS personnel or by the bureau to teach continuing education.

CC. "Salaries and benefits" means regular compensation for services or work, including other payments made in accord with a salary agreement, such as insurance, retirement, leave accrual, etc.

DD. "Statewide" for the purpose of statewide EMS system improvement projects means two (2) or more EMS local systems, a county, a training institution, an EMS regional office or the bureau, which support, respond to and/or provide medical care in an organized fashion to the real or perceived needs of at risk, sick or injured persons in New Mexico and its border areas.

EE. "Routinely responds" means the local recipient is available and may be dispatched to a medical or traumatic emergency twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week.

FF. "Run" means an EMS response dispatched to an existing or potential medical event, by one or more local recipients to provide EMS assistance and/or transportation of a patient, regardless of the number of patients on scene.

GG. "Secretary" means the secretary of the New Mexico department of health.

HH. "Training program" means a course provided by an approved EMS training program or any continuing education approved by the bureau.

II. "Tuition" means those charges, including fees and textbooks, for the enrollment of students in approved EMS training programs, continuing education, and conferences relevant to the education and training of local EMS personnel.